Brett Nelson

Head Coach

Brett Nelson is in his first season as the head men’s basketball coach at the College of the Holy Cross in 2019-2020. The 18th head coach in the history of the program, he joined the Crusaders after spending the last previous five seasons on the coaching staff at Marquette University.

During his five years at Marquette, including two seasons as associate head coach, Nelson helped the Golden Eagles develop into one of the top programs in the Big East. Marquette posted an overall record of 97-69 during that time, with two trips to the NCAA Tournament and one to the National Invitation Tournament.

During Nelson’s two years as associate head coach, the Golden Eagles posted an overall record of 45-24. In 2018-2019, he helped Marquette to an overall mark of 24-10, a second-place finish in the Big East (12-6) and an appearance in the NCAA Tournament. In 2017-2018, the Golden Eagles went 21-14 overall and advanced to the quarterfinals of the National Invitation Tournament. Marquette also had success during Nelson’s three seasons as an assistant coach, advancing to the NCAA Tournament in 2016-2017 and winning 20 games in 2015-2016.

Prior to his time at Marquette, Nelson spent one season as the associate head coach at Ball State University in 2013-2014. He was previously an assistant coach at Drake University for two seasons, with the Bulldogs tying for third in the Missouri Valley Conference and advancing to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2011-2012.

Before his time at Drake, Nelson was an assistant coach at Arkansas in 2010-2011, helping the Razorbacks to a third-place finish in the SEC Western Division. Prior to that, he was an assistant coach at Marshall from 2007-2010, with the Thundering Herd going 24-10 and earning a berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament in 2009-2010.

Prior to landing his first coaching position, Nelson served as the director of basketball operations at Virginia Commonwealth University in 2006-2007 and Colorado State University in 2005-2006.

A former McDonald’s All-American, Nelson joined the coaching ranks after a successful playing career at the University of Florida, where he was a three-year starter for the Gators and a member of four NCAA tournament teams, including the 2000 squad that reached the national championship game. At the time of his graduation, Nelson ranked first in school history in 3-pointers made (274) and attempted (689), second in steals (198) and 14th in points scored (1,417). He was a two-time All-SEC selection in addition to earning third team All-America honors in 2001.

A 2004 graduate of Florida with a bachelor’s degree in sociology, Nelson went on to play professionally in Sweden. A native of St. Albans, W.Va., Nelson and his wife, Jamie, have one son (Eli).